This invention relates to video systems, and more particularly, to interactive television program guide systems which provide for the flexible modification of program guide user screen layouts and program guide functionality.
Cable, satellite, and broadcast television systems provide viewers with a large number of television channels. Users have traditionally consulted printed television program schedules to determine the programs being broadcast at a particular time. More recently, interactive electronic television program guides have been developed that allow television program information to be displayed on a user""s television.
Interactive program guides allow the user to navigate through television program listings using a remote control. In a typical program guide display, television listings are organized and displayed in subsets according to multiple selection criteria and are sorted in various ways. For example, one approach is to organize program listings into a grid.
With current interactive program guides, user screens (e.g., screens containing program listings) and program guide functionality are fixed. It is generally not possible to change user screens or program guide functionality without downloading an entire new program guide application.
Accordingly, it would be desirable if a markup language could be used to provide for downloading display characteristics of user screens and program guide functionality as plug-ins anytime, without modifying the code of the application.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an interactive television program guide that arranges program guide display elements using a markup language.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an interactive television program guide that indicates and selects program guide functionality using a markup language.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an interactive television program guide that may be updated by downloading markup language documents without user intervention.
This and other objects of the invention are accomplished in accordance with the principles of the present invention by providing an interactive program guide system that has program guide display screen look and functionality assigned or updated using markup language documents.
Program guide data is provided by a data source in a satellite uplink facility. This information is transmitted to a television distribution facility such as a cable headend via a satellite link. The television distribution facility distributes the information (and television programming signals) to user television equipment on which an interactive television program guide is implemented. One suitable distribution scheme involves transmitting television channels and distributing the information for program listings in the vertical blanking interval of one of the channels or in a sideband. Alternatively, the information for program listings may be provided on a television channel sideband, using an in-band digital channel, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitable data transmission technique.
The user television equipment for receiving and processing the television program listings and program listings information may include a set-top box. The set-top box is also able to receive the television programming distributed by the television distribution facility. The program guide implemented on the set-top box processes television program listings information and generates display screens (e.g., an interactive television program guide grid) for display, e.g., on a standard television monitor.
Program guide display elements may have a set of associated attributes. Display element attributes may include display element style and layout information (e.g., font size, font type, color, screen coordinates, etc.), actions associated with the display element, or any other suitable attribute. Display element actions may be indicated and selected using the markup language documents. The markup language used may be any suitable markup language or system of marking up, or tagging, a document (e.g., text file) so that the document indicates user display screen layout and styling and program guide functionality. For example, the markup language document may contain HyperText Markup Language (HTML), Dynamic HyperText Markup language (DHTML), or Extensible Markup Language (XML) code. The program guide is programmed to interpret the markup language documents and generate the display screens and provide program guide functionality according to the documents.
The use of a markup language provides an interactive television program guide in which display screens may be modified by downloading markup language documents without user intervention and without modifying the code of the application. Application functionality may be modified by attaching documents to the different modules in the same manner. The use of a markup language also allows a control entity to control some of the appearance and functionality of the guide and to create enhanced features and promotions based on designing a screen layout with off-the-shelf markup language editors and/or viewers.
Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.